kaaruwa

[káárùwə̀]

A divorced or widowed woman who has remained independent despite still being of marriageable age.

Hausa – 40+ million speakers – Nigeria, Niger, and neighbouring countries.

This word is often translated as "free woman", "femme libre" or as "prostitute", "harlot" (Google Translate, R.C. Abraham, Dictionary of the Hausa Language.) These translations are either too vague, or too specific and derogatory.

Source: orthography: Roxana Ma Newman, A Hausa-English Dictionary. Yale University Press. 1990. IPA transcription and translation: personal field notes; transcription verified using Schuh & Yalwa "Hausa" in Handbook of the International Phonetic Association: A guide to the use of the International Phonetic Alphabet. Cambridge University Press, 1999.

Credit: Will Leben